


The Wild Fox Den

by lovelypipedream



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Aftg au, Alternate Universe - Exy (All For The Game), Andreil Au, Angst, M/M, Mentions of Death, Multi, POV Neil Josten, TW:, eating problems, mute!Neil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25876093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelypipedream/pseuds/lovelypipedream
Summary: Neil’s mother ended up killing off his father before she died. Neil decided to call Stuart before running to Millport. After having a rough time coping with the change, he ends up in group therapy, where he meets the foxes.
Relationships: A bit of renison, Renison - Relationship, andreil - Relationship
Comments: 12
Kudos: 150





	1. Chapter 1

It had been 7 months since his mother died. He’d come to accept this reality, but he still felt numb when he tried to remember that day. Never in a million years did he think group therapy would be the thing to dig him out of that dark hole.

His mother was far from weak, she managed to take out his bastard of a father before he got to her. That part, was still hard to believe. After his mother died, he decided to contact his uncle Stuart.

Luckily, he was in America taking care of some business when the whole thing happened. Neil tried to explain what went down, but all he could manage was pointing at his mother’s lifeless body. 

Stuart found a way to hold a funeral for his sister, any crumb of their past lives on the run were cleaned up by his men. His uncle came to the decision that he would temporarily move to America to take care of him and manage his businesses overseas from South Carolina. In two weeks, Stuart had become Neil’s legal guardian.

Neil was really grateful to his uncle, he really was, but trying to live as a normal teenager was harder than he thought. The first month was the worst of it.

Stuart had rented a house in a nice neighborhood, and even gave Neil his own room, but it was almost impossible for him to sleep. He wasn’t used to sleeping in such a big bed, and the empty space of the room made him feel paranoid. There were two windows, two ways his father’s men could get at him.

His uncle, of course, noticed this and reassured him that they were safe. He didn’t buy it. It had been exactly a month since he had said anything to anyone. He’d reply with nods to most things his uncle said.

He couldn’t bring himself to feel much of anything, until exy tryouts happened at his new school. When he came home that day, he handed Stuart an exy Tryout form, silently conveying that he wanted to try out, and that he needed his signature.

Stuart was happy because it was the first thing Neil had showed any interest in in weeks. 

“I’ll sign it on one condition, you have to take up my offer and go to a therapist like I asked you before.” Neil stared down at his uncle. 

When Stuart had mentioned therapy his first week with him, he shook his head, blatantly showing his unwillingness. But this was exy, the only thing he has wanted since his mother died. He stood there for a moment in silence, until he nodded in confirmation.

His uncle nodded firmly, signed, and handed him the form “Alright, here you go.” 

That night was the first night Neil got more than 4 hours of sleep uninterrupted by nightmares.

Tryouts went well, he was rusty from not playing in so long but he had the speed and stamina to impress the coach.

He was officially on the team. He loved everything about exy, he had to always keep moving after adrenaline of it all kicked in. He started going on runs to keep in shape, the soreness he felt and the sharp pain in his chest when he ran was the only thing that gave him motivation to continue going to those dreadful therapy sessions.

A week went by, and he still hadn’t said a single word at therapy, at school, or anywhere else.

Stuart was getting calls from school telling him about Neil’s refusal to cooperate, and after a week of therapy, the therapist diagnosed him with selective mutism.

He overheard his uncle talking to his therapist on Monday.

“There’s nothing I can do. The boy won’t talk to me, he won’t even make eye contact. I’m sorry Mr. Hatford but I can’t help if he doesn’t want to be helped.” Stuart sighed.

“Alright Ms. Adams, I understand.” and he hung up.

When Stuart came knocking at his door later that night, he pretended to be asleep. He knew some kind of lecture was coming, or worse, he might not let him play exy anymore. Neil would avoid that lecture for as long as he could.

One more week went by and miraculously he had managed to escape his uncle before he had the chance to get in a full sentence.

Running and exy was all he cared about doing. He would go on a run before school, one when he got home, and one at night. It was the only way he could be exhausted enough to get any sleep.

He soon became obsessed with getting faster, stronger, better at exy. He never had an appetite, he’d mostly eat a small portion of whatever his uncle gave him and would secretly throw away the rest, only consuming protein shakes and one or two apples a week.

He started rapidly losing weight. He had always been pretty scrawny, but the sudden loss of weight didn’t go unnoticed by his uncle.

“We’re going to the doctors tomorrow. Don’t go on your afternoon run, just come straight home and stay here. I’m getting off work early.”

Neil looked up from his pre-calculus homework. He hated hospitals and doctors. He shook his head frantically, but Stuart wasn’t having it.

“Jesus look at you Abram, You look bloody horrible. Don’t think I didn’t notice the food you always throw away, or that you’re not getting any sleep, and you insist on going on these stupid runs everyday.” 

Neil visibly flinched at hearing his name for the first time since his mother’s death.  
Stuart noticed this and his voice became softer “Please, Neil, I just want to help you. I know you and my sister went through a lot,” he had no idea. “but he’s gone now, he can’t get to you, you can’t keep going like this.”

Neil didn’t have the energy to be stubborn right now, he just gave a half nod, picked up his pre-calc homework and went back to his room.

The doctor said he was malnourished and gave him a strict meal schedule, along with the amount of carbs he had to consume a day. The number itself made him feel immensely uncomfortable, how was he supposed to stay in shape for exy? 

He also recommended some sleeping pills. The weight loss, exercise, and lack of sleep was too much for him, and the doctor said he had to let his body rest for at least two weeks.

Half the ride back home the car was silent, until Stuart finally spoke up. 

“I’m going to sign you up for a group therapy program, for teens, like you. Don’t roll your eyes at me Neil, it’s the best option.”

The idea of group therapy sounded even more dreadful than one on one therapy.

“You’re going to have to go, or no more exy.” Neil’s eyes widened, he felt his heart sinking. He looked into Stuart’s eyes, trying to get him to see, to understand that it was all he had.

Stuart looked more concerned than angry, “It’s the group therapy or nothing.”

Neil finally gave up. He would go to the stupid group therapy if he had to.

He had group therapy everyday except on Fridays and weekends. Coach Wymack, the man who ran the program, had told him that he was always welcome to come on off days as well.

He sincerely doubted he would.

Now, he was on his way to the center with Stuart, mentally preparing himself for all the crying and sob stories of random strangers.

Wymack shook hands with Stuart and said firmly “Hello Mr. Hatford, I’ll make sure he stays safe.”

Stuart nodded and gave Wymack a hopeful look that said ‘good luck’

He turned to Neil, “I’ll come pick you up at 5, okay?” Neil just nodded.

Wymack gestured for Neil to follow him, “Alright kid, I’m putting you with the foxes.”

Neil gave him a puzzled look, Wymack explained further. “There are many different therapy groups here, we found that smaller sets of groups are better for people feel more comfortable, rather then having 30 teenager packed in like a classroom. The groups get to choose their names, this group, chose foxes. And that’s the group you’ll be in.”

They stopped in front of a door that was labeled ‘3B’ “You’ll be here with Bee and occasionally Abby, they are the adults in charge. The session will end at 5, good luck kid.” and he walked away.

Neil took a deep breath and opened the door.

“GIVE MY SHIT BACK YOU LITTLE BITCH!” yelled a blonde girl standing on top of a chair.

“STOP CHEWING GUM SO LOUD THEN! ITS FUCKING ANNOYING!” said a short blonde boy as a taller Hispanic looking  
guy tried to calm the waves.

“Let’s calm down guys, we literally haven’t even started the session!” He said, trying to be the voice of reason.

An even taller, dark skinned boy with abnormally spiky hair tried to help, “Just give her the pack of gum back Aaron.”

There was girl right next to blonde chick. She had short white hair with rainbow dyed tips. She took the blonde’s hand and pulled her down to sit again. “It’s okay Alli, we can resolve this calmly.” Surprisingly, the blonde girl calmed down and took a deep breath.

The spiky haired boy took the gum from Aaron and handed it back to the blonde with a smile.

His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly ajar, what the hell did he walk into?? It must be the wrong room.

For a split second, he thought he was seeing double. There was another short blonde boy sitting next to the Hispanic one that looked identical to the guy Aaron.

The blonde noticed him staring and gave him an eerily cheerful smile. “We have some audience!” He exclaimed.

All heads turned in his direction.

Before he could react, a woman with glasses that was sitting at the far end of the circle of chairs spoke up “You must be Neil Josten, welcome to the fox den.” She said, giving him a smile.

What the actual fuck did his uncle sign him up for.


	2. Chapter 2

He was still trying to process what he just witnessed when the lady had spoken. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she gestured for him to sit down in the empty seat between the friendly spiky haired kid and the bubbly Hispanic boy.

Neil took his seat and tried not to make eye contact with anyone to avoid interaction, this plan didn’t go so well.

“Hi! I’m Nicky! You must be excited right? You know, new group and all. Hey do you go to palmetto high?? All of us go there, Matt here is in my English class! What grade are you in? Are you single??”

Neil’s mind raced as he tried to keep up with everything the boy was saying. He just stared at him with wide eyes.

Apparently ‘Matt’ noticed his utter confusion and intervened with an awkward laugh.

“Haha don’t let Nicky overwhelm you too much. I’m Matt, it’s nice to meet you,” he said with a smile.

One of the blonde twins, ‘Aaron’ as Matt called him, snorted. “What the hell is this a meet and greet? Can we get this over with so I can leave.”

Nicky scoffed “You just want to see your little girlfriend.”

Aaron simply rolled his eyes and turned back to Bee.

He looked like the pissy type. Neil made a note to avoid any confrontation with this Aaron fellow.

Now when it came to his twin, he couldn’t read his aura whatsoever. He just sat there, staring at the floor with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He found himself staring at him for a few seconds before Bee spoke up again.

“That’s actually a good idea Aaron. Let me introduce you to everyone, we’re missing Kevin and Dan today but you’ll meet them next meeting.” 

She gestured to the smiling twin, “This is Andrew.” Andrew simply shifted in his seat and stared at the clock instead of the floor. “and this is his brother, Aaron.”

Aaron on the other hand, didn’t seem to be listening.

She started pointing and listing off names accordingly “Nicky, Matt, Allison, and Renee. They are part of this group, so don’t be afraid to trust each other okay?”

Allison leaned back on her chair “So do you go to Palmetto high?”

Before he could say anything Bee cut in.

“Neil is selectively mute Allison. He’ll communicate with us with paper and pencil for the time being.”

Bee handed him a note pad and a pencil that he doubted he would use during any of these sessions, but took anyways.

Allison was still expecting an answer, so he nodded in confirmation.

“Alright lets start off light for today to get Neil settled. Renee, how was your weekend?” asked Bee.

Renee went over some bonding activities she did with her mom, and talked about the time she spent helping the animal shelter.

“And do you think going out and doing things like these help you clear your head?” asked Bee.

Renee smiled and said “Yes, looking at the positives did help a lot, thank you Bee.”

This went on for two hours. Bee went around asking them about their weekends. Matt and Allison summed up their weekends in a couple of minutes. Most of that hour was Nicky talking about the new season of a random show Neil didn’t care enough to catch the name of.

Aaron just said his weekend was okay, but when Bee got to Andrew, he just gave Bee a grin and said “Pass.”

Bee didn’t push him and moved on.

“Well, I think this was a delightful meeting. Don’t forget we have a meeting tomorrow.” She addressed the circle.

Allison grabbed her purse and turned to Renee “hey I’m going shopping for a bit, want to come with?”

Renee shook her head and said “going to the ring with Andrew in about 30 minutes, so we’re going to stay. I’ll catch you later though!”

Nicky, Matt, and Aaron left after a few goodbyes.

“You want to come Neil? Never hurts to practice your fighting skills. It’s also convenient that there’s a gym in this building.”

Neil knew she was trying to be polite but declined. He didn’t think his body could take it, nor did he have any interest in third wheeling.

The session apparently ended early today, so neil had about 20 minutes to kill before his uncle came to pick him up.

They all went out to the main lobby after Bee locked the room door. It was a large room decorated with warm colors. There was a lengthy couch with a flat screen tv in front of it. There were also a couple of arm chairs scattered throughout the rest of the room.

They were all gathered close to the tv when Andrew said he was going to go smoke.

After a couple of minutes Neil started to get impatient. He was heading out to get fresh air when he overheard something that stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Calm down Kevin, I’ll fix it. No. He won’t get to you, let’s talk tomorrow after the meeting. Stay your ass inside don’t go on dumb ass runs.”

Neil’s stomach felt like it was folding on itself. Riko? There was no way.

There were lots of people named Riko and Kevin. He knew this, so why did he feel like the floor was shifting underneath his feet?

“Wymack will be there soon. The Moriyama’s wouldn’t go for you now, they like to avoid messy situations.”

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

It was Riko. And Kevin, it was his Kevin.

He felt like vomiting.

Neil ran back inside and straight out the back door. He was sure Andrew heard his footsteps but he didn’t give a shit right now.

He needed to move, he needed to forget, he wanted to forget what he just heard.

He mustered enough energy to text his uncle to tell him he was out back. He didn’t know how long he stood there trying to even out his breathing when his uncle’s voice brought him back to reality.

“Neil, Neil what’s the matter?”

He suddenly felt naked, no ones ever seen him like this. He even hid it from his mother fearing that she would scold him for panicking when he should be focused and ready to go in a flash.

His uncle managed to get him in the car and back home. Stuart tried asking a couple more times but Neil just wanted to lie down.

He laid awake for some time trying to figure out where Mr. smiles Andrew Minyard fit into this situation. Was he an ex member of the ravens? Is he supposed to be some kind of protection for kevin?

This, he didn’t know. But if Riko Moriyama was investigating around town, he would like to have as much intel as he could get.

He decided that he would do some ‘research’ on Andrew. Unpleasant surprises was something Neil was used to, that didn’t mean he fancied dealing with them.

His new focus was to gather intel, and with this goal in mind, he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me a while, I really had trouble figuring out where to go from here but I hope you enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed writing this! I’ll most likely make continue this with more chapters. I love the foxes and I’m convinced they will always find each other<3 any thoughts?


End file.
